Mayo Clinic announces vaccine requirement for staff

On Monday, Mayo Clinic joined a growing number of hospital systems across the country in announcing a vaccine requirement for staff.

The Rochester-based health system says all employees must be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 or complete a “declination process” by Sept. 17.

"We are proud of our staff's high vaccination rates and are grateful that the vast majority have embraced the opportunity to get vaccinated," said Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, in a written statement. "Our patients expect to be safe when they come to Mayo Clinic, and we need to do everything we can to protect everybody."

The requirement from Mayo comes amid a recent wave in Covid-19 cases, many of them stemming from new, more contagious variants.

This weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned that the country was heading in the wrong direction. He called current circumstances a “pandemic among the unvaccinated.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 99.5 percent of hospital deaths are from unvaccinated people.

"Getting vaccinated for Covid-19 is the single most important thing all of us can do to protect our patients, visitors, colleagues and communities," said Dr. Farrugia.

While Mayo will not fire staff for turning down the vaccine, it will require staff who decline to get vaccinated to “complete education modules”; they will also be required to wear masks and socially distance when on campus.

Mayo’s decision to require vaccines for staff coincides with a recommendation from a coalition of medical groups — including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians and the American Nurses Association — that health care employers should mandate vaccinations for all workers.

Already across its sites, over 95 percent of Mayo physicians have been vaccinated, according to Clinic spokesperson Ginger Plumbo. Overall staff vaccinations are lower, ranging from 75 to 85 percent.

“… we are optimistic that this additional push will result in even greater participation,” said Plumbo.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.